About Norfolk Island

Learn about Norfolk Island

About Norfolk Island

LOCATION

Norfolk Island is a beautiful and unique island located between the Australian East Coast and New Zealand (1610kms ENE of Sydney and 1063kms NNW of Auckland). It lies at 29°02′ S latitude and 167°57′ E longitude in the South Pacific Ocean. It is a volcanic outcrop 8 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide with an area of 3455 hectares. Two smaller uninhabited islands, Nepean and Phillip, lie to the south of Norfolk Island, at a distance of 1 kilometre and 6 kilometres respectively. Nepean Island is about 10 hectares in area and Phillip Island about 190 hectares.

GEOLOGICAL ORIGINS

The Norfolk Island group is situated on the Norfolk Ridge, an elongated submarine rise which extends from New Zealand to New Caledonia. There are no other emergent outcrops in the group, with the closest land being New Caledonia (approximately 800 kilometres to the northwest).

Norfolk and Phillip Islands have similar geology, both being almost completely volcanic in origin. The sporadic volcanic activity which built the Islands extended over a period of roughly 700,000 years, beginning about 3 million years ago. The sea has since eroded Norfolk Island to about one-third of its original size and formed a coastline of high cliffs. The volcanic activity generated four distinct rock formations, consisting of fine to medium grained olivine basalts and tuffs (layered volcanic ash). These are the Ball Bay Basalts (the oldest dating to about 3 million years ago), the Duncombe Bay Basalts (2.66-2.69 million years), the Cascade Basalts (2.4 million years) and the Steels Point Basalts (2.33-2.39 million years).

Nepean Island and part of Norfolk Island near Kingston consist of coarse marine calcareous rock (sand, coral and shell fragments cemented with lime) of late Pleistocene origin. The rock was in part deposited by on-shore winds during a period of low sea level. It was this rock which was quarried for the convict buildings at Kingston.

CLIMATE

Norfolk Island is characterised by a mild sub-tropical climate. The weather is under oceanic influence and there are no extremes of heat or cold, although humidity is generally high during the summer months. There is very little variation between day and night temperatures (generally no more than 5-6ºC): average maximum temperatures range from 18ºC in winter to 25º in summer; average minimums range from 13ºC in winter to 19ºC in summer. The average annual rainfall is 1328mm. May to August are the wettest months (with monthly averages of about 140 to 150mm) and November to January tend to be the driest (averaging 70 to 90 mm).

LANGUAGE

English, but you’ll hear islanders speak Norfolk, a unique language derived from the speech of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives and companions who settled Pitcairn Island in 1790. The Pitcairn language was taken to Norfolk in 1856.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

In 1774 Captain James Cook discovered the island and named it after a noble English family. Of Norfolk he wrote ‘it is an island paradise’. In 1788 the ship ‘Supply’ commanded by Lt P G King arrived with a party of 23 including 15 convicts to settle here. This was the First Settlement. With the arrival of more prisoners the settlement soon boasted a population of 1,000 at which it remained for the next 15 years.

In 1803 the English government gave orders to abandon the settlement and that was finally accomplished in 1813 with the island remaining unoccupied until 1826 when the Second Settlement came about. Norfolk Island was then settled again with convicts and within a few years it became ‘a hell in paradise’. The Second Settlement continued until 1855 when the last of the convicts were transported to Tasmania.

The Third Settlement came about when on 8th June 1856 the people of Pitcairn Island, descendants of the Bounty mutineers, were relocated to Norfolk Island by the British Government after remote Pitcairn Island became unsustainable to the community. People of the Third Settlement became the forebears of the people who reside on Norfolk Island today.

The population of what is considered now to be the Fourth Settlement is made up of approximately 2,000 people. Norfolk today is home to a mixture of mainly Pitcairn descendants, Australians and New Zealanders and others from different parts of the world.

Norfolk Island can boast having some of the best preserved Georgian buildings in the South Pacific region.

NORFOLK ISLAND TODAY

Some things on Norfolk Island have changed little over the years. Many of the Islanders preserve their Pitcairn heritage and speak the distinctive traditional language passed down from the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives. Cows still graze under a commonage system and goods from ships are still brought ashore in lighters or long boats, as the Island has no natural harbour. However, meeting the demands of the tourism industry has meant that a wide range of services and most modern comforts are available.

RELATIONSHIP TO AUSTRALIA

Norfolk Island became a Territory under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1914.

REVENUE

Major revenue sources are customs duty, liquor sales, departure fees, and charges for government services such as lighterage, telecommunications and electricity. There is no GST (goods and services tax) applied to Norfolk island.

An Administrator, appointed by the Governor General, is the senior Commonwealth Government representative in the Territory. The Office of the Administrator is in the New Military Barracks, Kingston. The Administrator resides at Government House.

IMMIGRATION

Norfolk Island immigration rules are now the same as mainland Australia. Visit the Australian Immigration website for details.

TIME DIFFERENCE

Norfolk Island is one hour ahead of Australian Eastern Standard Time and one hour behind New Zealand. Norfolk Island does not have daylight saving.

BANKING, CURRENCY AND CARDS

The currency used is the Australian dollar. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Westpac Banking Corporation have branches on Norfolk Island. After hours Auto-Teller is available and some stores do “cashback”. Most major credit cards are acceptable.

Bank hours of business are 9:30am to 4:00pm Monday to Thursday and to 5:00pm Friday.

EDUCATION

Primary and secondary schooling to Higher School Certificate is provided by the Norfolk Island Government. Education is free and compulsory for all children. There are pre-school facilities available.

ELECTRICITY

DRIVING

A current driver’s licence is required. The local speed limit is 50 km/h and 40km/h in the Burnt Pine shopping precinct unless otherwise signposted. Horses, geese and cattle have right of way. Driving is on the left-hand side of the road the same as Australia and New Zealand..

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

IDD telephones and facsimile services are available. Public IDD coin and smart card boxes operate 24 hours daily. There is a mobile phone network on the island with pre-paid cards available. Norfolk Telecom and Norfolk Island Data Services both offer a range of internet services and plans. Visitor internet services are available with wireless internet access available at various “hotspot” locations throughout the island.

HEALTH AND MEDICAL

The 32-bed Norfolk Island hospital includes a dental clinic, pharmacy and emergency service 24 hours daily.

EMERGENCY SERVICES

Hospital, police, rescue, fire, ambulance and dental are available for any emergency.